Always Waiting
by Mei Vir D. Ripper
Summary: Only she mattered now. Nothing more, nothing less. #gruvia #nsfw


**Author's Notes:** This is my second try in writing something lemon-y. I'm still unsure about the whole thing and can't help laugh aloud whenever I tried to use the "P" word for descriptions. So beware of too much manhood usage here. But I still enjoyed writing this nonetheless.

This was supposed to be last year's Valentines Day fic but then I wasn't able to get around to finishing it around that time. But better late than never, right? *shot*

Also, advance **Happy Birthday** for my one and only **Mother Bird Abi**! Consider this your birthday gift coz I can't seem to remember the other prompt you wanted me to write. All I know was it was NaLu. Hahahaha

 **Warning:** There's lemon somewhere in here though it's just an edited one of the original. Children beware of citrus.

 **Disclaimer:** I want to own Gray so I can further torture him. *evil laughter* But I don't own Fairy Tail so meh.

* * *

Gray woke up to the shrilling sound of his phone's alarm clock and cursed the horrible gods for it. He didn't want to wake up during this god forsaken day, filled with all its sweet nonsense, because it was just plain stupid. Giving chocolates, buying flowers; it was a day full of crap.

He groggily crawled out of his bed, not minding his complete lack of clothing, looking as bare as the day he was born. He passed by the kitchen to get a glass of water – to clench the overwhelming soreness of his throat – and probably find something edible to eat from whatever was left in the fridge. If Gray was lucky, his pyromaniac roommate hadn't eaten all of their food supply yet. His stomach grumbled furiously which further increased the brunette's will to scavenge for nutrition.

Walking to the fridge, he noticed a small note - with the most horrible handwriting - carelessly pinned on its metal door frame.

 _'Out with Luce, today. And Dude, you look like shit. Everyone's worried. – Natsu'_

He read the note and sighed in frustration. Why wouldn't everyone just get off his fucking case already? They didn't know shit about what's going on with him. No one understood what this fucking day _meant_. And he was just sick and tired of everything that had anything to do with this day.

Gray didn't know how long he'd stood frozen still in the room. His mind had wondered to dark, deep thoughts; he just wanted to completely forget. But he couldn't. Because forgetting meant he would be forgetting everything about _her_. And he could _not_ let that happen. His _heart_ would _not_ allow it.

He heard the soft pitter-patter of rain against the hard cold windows of his apartment. _How long had it been since then?_ His mind wondered gloomily. Since that faithful rainy day he'd entered Fairy Tail's loud and boisterous bar, completely drenched from the harsh onslaught of the damp weather, and locked gaze with the most stunning pair of azure eyes he had ever seen.

Sometimes, Gray wished she didn't come stumbling into his life. He could still remember it as clearly as if it was only yesterday and not quite as if years hadn't passed by.

The enigmatic bar was always filled to the brim with people, and most women always wore the skimpiest form of clothing they could. He didn't have problems with it, and to be honest, he always enjoyed a few different forms of eye candy. But there was just something different about that certain blue-haired girl that took his attention. She was wearing the sexiest little black dress he'd ever locked eyes on, with her long creamy legs exposed for everyone to see. An odd tattoo - something with wings - was beautifully painted on her left thigh.

"Gray, you're drooling," a female voice suddenly teased him, then grinned mischievously, when she saw him staring at the particular girl standing awkwardly on the other side of the room. "But she's quite a beauty, eh?"

The woman plopped herself carelessly on the barstool beside him with a soft thud and chuckled with good humor; on her hand was a cold bottle of beer already half-empty. Gray scowled at the grinning brunette beside him, and ordered his own regular drink from the currently smiling female bartender, who passed him a new bottle of cold beer. Gray was sure her name was Kinana.

"Get off my case, Alberona. There's nothing wrong with a lil' appreciating," he said, grumbling. Taking a huge gulp of his drink, he let his gaze scan the place nonchalantly, and found his gaze wandering back to the same blue-haired woman he'd seen earlier.

Cana Alberona scoffed at him, then crossed her legs, which exposed a creamy pair of legs that gathered enough attention from a few male admirers. Ignoring the attention around her, she leaned closer to Gray, propping her elbow in the bar's counter and placing her chin on the palm of her hand. There was a mischievious glint dancing in her eyes.

"Knowing you, you're probably mentally stripping the girl's clothes, like a perverted old man," she responded, grinning.

Gray suddenly choked on his drink and fought the intense pain that surged through his now dripping nose. Grabbing a nearby table napkin, he mentally cursed the now laughing brunette for being too drunk and being a huge pain in the ass. He already knew from experience how useless it was to argue with Cana, when she already formed an idiotic idea within her deranged mind, and there was also nothing he could do to stop the exasperating woman from all her drunken antics.

Glaring at his drink, he ignored the woman beside him, who happily chugged down at what seemed to be her 100th drink for the night. He still wondered dubiously how she could douse an unbelievable amount of alcohol without looking more than a little bit flustered. He was fairly good in handling his own drinks and he prided himself for that. But Cana Alberona was just an alcohol drinking monster. She was crazy. Period.

 _What a shitty day,_ Gray thought grimly.

After awhile, a sort of comfortable silence enveloped the both them before Cana spoke again. "Her first name's Juvia, by the way," she supplied, then took a long swallow of liquor.

He quirked a curious brow at her. "Huh?"

"Juvia Lockser. She's new in the neighborhood, I heard."

"And why are you telling me this?"

Her smile was full of evil mischief and Gray felt dread coming his way. She inclined her head towards the dance floor, filled with people grinding at each other in tune with the loud music beats, and smirked.

"Because I just asked Erza to get Juvia and introduce us to her," she said cheerfully. "And there they are now!"

Gray jerked his head towards the direction of a tall redhead, paving her way in the middle of the dance floor, with such scary authoritarian prowess; the mob literally split apart the moment she passed by. And just behind her, trotted the same blue-haired girl wearing that sexy little black dress, he'd seen earlier. A rosy blush colored her cheeks, making her all too innocent looking, despite the skimpy type of dress she was wearing. His eyes widened in apprehension.

He thought of different ways to escape the evil clutches of the upcoming redhead, but it seemed his mind had chosen that exact moment to bail out on him. Too late. The indomitable Erza Scarlet already stood in front of them, like a lioness ready to pounce at anyone who tried to escape her penetrating gaze.

"Cana," Erza greeted the brunette woman with a smile, then nodded towards his direction. "Gray."

"Erza," he greeted back coolly. _Good, that sounded natural_ , he thought with satisfaction. Gray always valued his safety beyond reason and as much as possible stayed away from the redhead's line of sight. It wasn't that he hated the woman. It was just that the Erza Scarlet was never to be reckoned with, but for those who did, well let's just say they never left the battlefield unscathed.

Cana shamelessly lunged towards the redhead, wrapped her arms around the redhead's neck, and borrowed her drunken self on top of Erza's huge chest. A silly grin was plastered on her face.

"Erza, nice of you to deliver the parcel without delay!" Cana smiled slyly, then gave a sidelong glance Erza's fidgeting companion, and in a sing-song voice asked, "Sooooo…. You're the new girl in town, huh? Name's Cana Alberona. Nice to meet ya, girlie."

"Ah, yes!" the blue-haired woman replied and blushed. "My name's Juvia Lockser. It's a pleasure to meet everyone!"

She eyed the people in front of her furtively which Gray didn't miss. He also couldn't help but notice how each curve of her voluptuous body hugged her black dress, which he also noticed wasn't exactly black either. It was actually a midnight blue dress which further accentuated the color of her hair. Her soft pink lips formed a shy smile and he wondered if they tasted as sweet as they looked. Stopping abruptly at his weird train of thoughts, Gray mentally cursed at himself as he almost missed the question thrown at him by Juvia.

"Erm, I'm sorry. What?" he asked dumbly. Ignoring the snorting sounds and raised brows of the other women surrounding him, Gray focused his attention to the enticing blue-haired woman now staring at him curiously. Losing his breath for a split second, he stared at the bluest pair of eyes he had ever seen, like looking at a summer's sky - clear and blue.

"I said..." she responded with slight amusement. "...that your friends seemed to have left us already."

Gray stared stupidly at her as if she'd just grown a new head. "Huh?"

He slowly scanned his surroundings and, indeed, the both of them were left alone together. Cana had already dragged Erza back into the dance floor while the latter was furiously trying to keep her balance and not fall down face first on the ground. Releasing an exasperate sigh, Gray raked his hands through his hair in annoyance. It was really frustrating whenever Cana orchestrated these kinds of awkward situations and meet-ups where he'd be left alone to 'get-to-know' someone new, as she happily termed it.

Most of the time, it was a huge pain in the ass especially when Gray got to meet women who either wanted to slaughter him for unknown reasons or women who talked too much about themselves. Though he would rather mingle with the former since they tend to stay away from him much to his satisfaction. The latter was just sometimes to clingy. It was quite disturbing.

"Damn you, Cana," Gray whispered angrily under his breath. "I'll get you for this, you fucking drunk woman."

"Do you always end up in this kinds of situations?" the blue-haired woman suddenly asked him. There was a hint of amusement laced on her voice and Gray mentally kicked himself for looking like an idiot.

Taking a sip of his beer, he casually leaned his body on the bar's counter and secretly scrutinized the woman from head to foot. And liking what he saw, finally answered her question. "Ah, well, kind of," he replied, coolly.

"It must be troublesome," she replied, smiling.

"You have no idea," he replied dryly.

Then, she laughed. Gray was surprised to hear how melodious her laughter sounded. He'd heard other women laugh and most of them sounded boisterous and annoying to the ears, but hers wasn't. It sounded sweet and innocent. And he liked it.

"Juvia apologizes if she was suddenly dumped on your lap without your permission," she said and locked gaze with him. "Juvia didn't mean to."

"Don't worry about it," he answered and smirked as he raked appreciating eyes at the woman beside him. "The booze's great and I'm enjoying a few eye-candies for tonight. So I'm good."

A beautiful rosy blush blossomed on her soft porcelain cheeks and Gray felt smug, finally getting the upper hand on the situation. "And you? Are you enjoying yourself tonight?" he asked, grinning.

His smile faltered when she gave him the sultriest look he had ever seen.

"Thoroughly," she answered softly and grinned back at him. "Juvia's enjoying herself a lot tonight, too, Gray."

* * *

Her fingers weaved themselves through his dark locks, pulling him closer, and further arching her body against his. Shuddering at her touch, Gray's mouth continued its happy exploration of her body and left a series of love marks on her soft porcelain skin as he trailed more kisses down her body. Juvia's taste reminded him of the sweetness of vanilla. It was intoxicating. It was drugging him.

They had been together for a year now, after that night Cana suddenly leaving them together, in one of her elaborate tricks of hooking Gray with women. Although at first, their relationship was rocky and filled with awkward moments together; they were able to push through all of those together. And even though he wasn't the sappy type of person to admit his feelings aloud, he was hopelessly in love with the most beautiful woman he had ever known.

Juvia filled his grey and bleak life with so much warmth and sunshine; he didn't even know he had scarcely lived most of his life until the moment he met her. Of course, not that he wasn't happy with how he previously lived, it was just now he had her to melt the ice which he unknowingly enclosed his heart with. His past was filled with so much tragedies, that in order for him to keep living, he had to hide all of his feelings deep within him.

But Juvia was able to bring back all of those sleeping emotions back to the surface. And as he heard her soft ragged breaths, Gray was more determined to make love to her in the most passionate way he could.

"G-gray..." Juvia whispered achingly. She was now panting heavily as she watched him through half-lidded eyes filled with lust. The feeling of want had slowly built in between her legs and it seemed it was now too much to bear. She whimpered. "P-please…"

Their arms wrapped around each other, feeling as much of each others bodies as they could, while their tongues battled over for dominance. His tongue traced the hidden crevices of her mouth and tasted a unique sweetness that was purely Juvia. Groaning, she arched her body even closer to his, and he craved the warmth of her body, and coveted her presence as if his life's energy was only provided by the woman currently in his arms.

Pinning Juvia beneath him, Gray gently parted her legs apart, as he positioned his throbbing and anticipating manhood at her wet entrance. And in one fluid thrust, entered an oblivion he wouldn't mind being lost in, if it meant he could have her in both body and soul.

Now his body moved on its own, with the fervor that felt like his life was on the line, and thrust deeply inside her, he wanted to make sure he imprinted himself in as deep as he possibly could. Feeling her insides tighten itself around his manhood, he released an agonizing groan and thrust even faster and harder. He kissed her eyes, nose, and lips, whispering tender endearments along the way. And when he heard her scream his name once more, as a new wave of orgasm raked her whole body and as she shivered against him, Gray finally let go of all the tension that had built inside him throughout their love making and spilled the seed he subconsciously wished would bear more happiness for both him and Juvia.

Feeling a little bit limp, he carefully placed his body beside her and wrapped his arms around her relaxed body. He felt contented and happy. It was the kind of happiness he felt only when he shared such an intense and intimate experience with Juvia. And planting a soft kiss on her forehead, he pulled her closer towards him and liked the sensation at how their bodies were still fully connected with each other.

"Happy anniversary, Juvia," Gray greeted his girlfriend with a loving smile only he reserved towards her. "I love you."

Smiling back at him, with teary eyes filled with so much love and warmth, she replied. "I love you, too, Gray."

* * *

Gray couldn't have felt any happier. His life was almost perfect he couldn't ask for anything more. His job was stable, well as stable as it could get, though he sometimes mentally wished for a higher salary but still considered himself lucky he was able to provide food on the table. He had friends who, despite being a little bit odd and oftentimes crazy, supported him through thick and thin. And most of all, he had the most beautiful woman beside him who he would like to spend the rest of his life with.

Pausing at his sudden train of thought, Gray re-evaluated the idea of marriage and tried to weigh its pros and cons. He and Juvia had decided to finally move in together at her apartment building on their second year together, leaving his previous apartment to Natsu - his roommate. Though her apartment wasn't as spacious as his previous one, it was a lot closer to his office building which saved him a lot of trouble in waking up extra early in the morning and had more time to cuddle together with his sexy girlfriend after a heated sex the night before.

All in all, their current arrangement was quite good. And the idea of marriage, to make everything permanent, didn't sound too bad now. _Juvia Fullbuster_ , he thought and liked the sound of his last name attached to her. Grinning, he shook his head in amusement and thought of how he'd propose the idea of marriage to Juvia. Knowing her, she'd probably be too flustered and overwhelmed, she just might drag them both to a nearby chapel to get everything over with.

Sometimes her enthusiasm was too much even for Gray to handle. Though when she applied that same energy during their love making sessions, well, he wasn't going to complain about it.

He secretly planned the proposal he had in mind for the next couple of months. Luckily, their third year anniversary was approaching soon. And it was the best time to ask the dreaded question, _"Will you marry me?_ "

* * *

Glaring at the harsh weather just outside of his apartment, he was so stupid, so foolish, to think everything would work out perfectly. Now, he regretted everything. He blamed himself for everything.

Looking back at everything now, Gray should have foreseen that tragedy from happening. The signs were everywhere but he was too focused on his own little world he didn't notice them. The weather reporter had warned the citizens of Magnolia of an upcoming typhoon later in the evening, but the day outside was filled with so much sunshine; he was able to easily ignore the warning. He was feeling giddy with excitement that he completely forgot about it. It really was like the calm before the storm.

The typhoon had come later in the evening as predicted. He watched in slow apprehension, as the nice weather outside of the restaurant he booked, for his soon-to-be marriage proposal, turn into a raging sea of blackness and howling madness. The restaurant's manager had already informed him that they were ready to close down the whole establishment early while the storm was still in its initial onslaught; but he remained unperturbed. Juvia was on her way to the restaurant and he had to wait for her.

They had allowed him to stay and wait for awhile but when an hour had passed and no familiar blue-haired woman entered the building, dripping and soaked through the bones; his apprehension had escalated to dread. And another hour later, when he received a call from Juvia's cousin - Gajeel Redfox - Gray's whole body was filled with tangible terror.

An accident had occurred. A taxi cab and a truck had crashed into each other when the latter vehicle had trouble navigating through the sudden onslaught of heavy rain. The driver was unable to see the incoming car from the opposite direction and slammed straight into it with so much force the taxi's driver was declared dead on the spot, while its female passenger was in a life-threatening condition. The female passenger happened to be _his_ girlfriend, his _Juvia_.

Gray couldn't exactly recall how he managed to reach the hospital. What he could remember was how deathly pale Juvia's face was. Or how lifeless her body was against the white hospital bed she was placed on. Gone were the dazzling smiles, or the loving looks on her face. It was replaced with so much blood covering and horrible cuts on her beautiful face. A face he couldn't remove his gaze from.

During that moment, Gray knew he had died. His heart was broken into a million pieces and was irreparable, as the doctor informed him that she had lapsed into a state of coma. Her recovery was uncertain but they would do everything the hospital could do to help her.

And he didn't care what the doctor had mentioned after that. He didn't care when his friends had ran up to him wrapping him in tight embraces and giving encouragements that fell on deaf ears. When Juvia had been taken into the special intensive care unit, Gray had stayed beside her all the time. Despite protests from Cana, Erza, Natsu and Lucy - who was Natsu's current girlfriend - Gray stubbornly remained and stayed beside Juvia's bedside.

He didn't care that his body felt cold nor that he'd get sick if he didn't change out of his soaked clothes. His own well-being didn't matter to him. Only she mattered to him.

Only when Gajeel gripped him by his shirt's collar, threw him out of the room and punched some sense into him - much to the dismay of his wife Levy who was currently pregnant with their first child, did he grudgingly left and changed into drier clothes.

Her first months in the ICU was hell for Gray. He couldn't work properly as he worried she'd completely slip through his fingers if he didn't visit her everyday and stayed beside her 24/7. It was a good thing his boss, Laxus Dreyar, was quite sympathetic to his current circumstance and offered him a temporary leave.

"You look fucking _horrible_ , Fullbuster," his boss said in a gruff voice. "And your work these past months had been fucking sloppy. It's unacceptable."

Gray sighed and rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. Looking at the man he had grown to respect over the years, he had no excuse to give him except give an apology. "I'm really sorry, boss," he answered, not looking at the blond muscular man.

"Look Fullbuster, I understand you're in a bad situation now and I'm really sorry about it, however..." Laxus responded, sighing. His eyes were filled with much sympathy; Gray couldn't meet his gaze directly. "You can't continue on like this so I'm giving you some time off from work. And when everything's back to normal, come back and work for me again, understood?"

Gray nodded mutely as didn't had the energy to protest. When everything was back to normal? He inwardly laughed in bitter resentment. Would everything even go back to how it was before?

A week had now passed since he got ' _time off from work_ '. His body functioned in autopilot and mindlessly did the barest tasks such as eating and dressing himself. While his friend's had fussed over him for neglecting his body's basic needs, his mind had wandered to darker thoughts. Right now, he wouldn't mind trading his life for Juvia's because despite her condition improving, as what the doctor's had told him and she was transferred to the medical ward; the woman he loved still lay unconscious.

And he didn't know when he'd be able to gaze into her azure blue eyes. Or when he'd feel her warm hands wrapped around his.

Sometimes at night, Gray dreamed Juvia had finally regained consciousness and they were together once more. Only to realize that she came back to say her final goodbyes to him. And in those moments, he stubbornly refused to let go of her warm hands, stubbornly held on to her existence as it slowly vanished into nothingness.

The soft chime of the wall clock brought Gray back to the present and noticed that the outside had finally stoped as small rays of light now fleeted through the glass-paneled windows. He slowly dressed himself for the day as he donned on a clean pair of black trousers and a blue collared shirt that hugged his muscled body perfectly. Though he'd lost a few pounds these past months, he was subconsciously relieved his body was still in relatively good condition, minus the heavy dark bags under his eyes.

He grabbed a coat from the nearby rack, walked out of his apartment, and locked the doors behind him. His only had one destination in mind. But as he stepped out of his apartment's building, temporarily blinded with the dazzling sun's rays, he narrowed his eyes at everything around him.

Each shop was filled and decorated with red heart-shaped paper cutouts and little cute cherubs holding a small bow and arrows. There was a certain sweetness to the air that Gray tempted to say, " _Bah humbug!_ ", very much like that old geezer from that old holiday tale. But decided against it, then smiled realizing Juvia would berate him for mocking such a wonderful day for lovers. She really was a hopeless romantic at heart.

He felt a painful thug in his heart and slowly heaved a sigh. _Juvia enjoyed celebrating these kinds of things_ , he remembered achingly. Making up his mind, he switched directions and headed towards one of the best flower shops in town, and ordered a dozen assorted flowers that he knew Juvia would like. Then bought a box of chocolates Gray knew his woman coveted so much. He still found it amusing that she could devour a large box of chocolates as fast as Erza could finish one whole strawberry shortcake.

After finally making his purchases, he headed towards Magnolia Medical Hospital where he was greeted by smiling staff nurses.

"Good morning, Mr. Fullbuster," greeted one of the nurses who secretly eyed the bouquet of flowers and chocolates. "Visiting Ms. Lockser again today?"

She handed him the visitor's logged book where he swiftly signed his name on, and replied noncommitally. The nurse nodded in sympathetic understanding. "That's very sweet of you," she added.

"Ah, thanks," he answered, a little bit embarrassed.

"She's waiting for you in her room," the nurse responded and pointed to the room at the end of the hall. A room he would always remember for a very long time. "And happy Valentines' Day to you, Mr. Fullbuster."

Gray nodded mutely to the smiling nurse and head towards Juvia's assigned room. He ignored the excited murmurs and squeals of the other nurses behind him. And fought a blush as an old male patient, sitting on his wheelchair, gave him the thumbs up as Gray passed by.

Finally entering the room, Gray smiled at the sleeping woman in the middle room with the white painted walls. Her long blue locks was sprawled all around her in a set of beautiful waves.

"Hey," he greeted softly, placing a gentle kiss on her bandaged forehead, and on her soft but now chapped lips. "How are you today? I brought you flowers and some chocolates I know you'd like."

He motioned towards the things he held in both hands and waited with bated breath for any signs of reaction. But got none. And deep inside, he was hoping that soon she'd open her eyes, her eyes the same color as a summer's clear blue skies.

In this isolated room, with its white painted walls and disinfectant smell, with only the beep of the life support machine telling him she was still living - still fighting - death was hovering. It waited patiently for its chance to steal her away from him. But he wouldn't let it succeed.

Placing the flowers and chocolate on the side table, Gray slowly sat on the chair beside her bed and grabbed Juvia's pale, cold hands in between his. Silently, he closed his eyes and prayed to all the gods who were listening to him. He couldn't remember how many times he had done this before but he'd do it every single minute if it meant a miracle would be blessed upon him.

He didn't give a fuck to what others say about him, or how the nurses endlessly teased him for being such a _sweet darling_ every time he visited, and brought her favorite things in the world.

It didn't matter if the next day wasn't Valentine's Day, or the day after that, or the days that would follow. Only _she_ mattered. Nothing more, nothing less.

And Gray wanted nothing more than to say the words he had always wanted to ask her. The words he was ready to utter but held back because he wanted to see her smiling as radiant as the sun that filled his days with warmth.

Someday he would tell Juvia the words he had cared deeply inside his heart in person. And he wouldn't settle for anything less.

But for now, as he gently kissed each finger on her head, he'd settle with staying patiently at her side.

 _"Happy Valentines, Juvia. I'll always be here for you. You know that, right?_ " he whispered, achingly. _"So come back to me soon, got it? I'll always be here... waiting._ "

 **FIN**

* * *

 **A/n:** Did you like it? Well, I hope you did. If anyone wonders whether Juvia would wake up or not, I'll leave that to you guys. And if anyone wants to read the un-edited version of the lemon part in this story, please go to my AO3 account. The link's found on my profile. =)

Don't forget to leave a review! *blows kisses*


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